第55章

Butwhentheyoungmanhaddeparted，itcannotbedeniedthata

remarkableexpressionwasagainvisibleonthefairandyouthful

faceofhismistress。Itwasasadandanxiouslook，littlein

accordancewithwhatshouldhavebeenthefeelingsofamaidenon

theeveofwedlock。YetWalterLudlowwasthechosenofherheart。

“Alook！”saidElinortoherself。“Nowonderthatitstartled

him，ifitexpressedwhatIsometimesfeel。Iknow，bymyown

experience，howfrightfulalookmaybe。Butitwasallfancy。I

thoughtnothingofitatthetime-Ihaveseennothingofitsince-

Ididbutdreamit。”

Andshebusiedherselfabouttheembroideryofaruff，inwhichshe

meantthatherportraitshouldbetaken。

Thepainter，ofwhomtheyhadbeenspeaking，wasnotoneofthose

nativeartistswho，atalaterperiodthanthis，borrowedtheircolors

fromtheIndians，andmanufacturedtheirpencilsofthefursofwild

beasts。Perhaps，ifhecouldhaverevokedhislifeandprearrangedhis

destiny，hemighthavechosentobelongtothatschoolwithouta

master，inthehopeofbeingatleastoriginal，sincetherewereno

worksofarttoimitatenorrulestofollow。Buthehadbeenborn

andeducatedinEurope。Peoplesaidthathehadstudiedthegrandeur

orbeautyofconception，andeverytouchofthemasterhand，inall

themostfamouspictures，incabinetsandgalleries，andonthe

wallsofchurches，tilltherewasnothingmoreforhispowerfulmind

tolearn。Artcouldaddnothingtoitslessons，butNaturemight。He

hadthereforevisitedaworldwhithernoneofhisprofessional

brethrenhadprecededhim，tofeasthiseyesonvisibleimagesthat

werenobleandpicturesque，yethadneverbeentransferredto

canvas。Americawastoopoortoaffordothertemptationstoan

artistofeminence，thoughmanyofthecolonialgentry，onthe

painter’sarrival，hadexpressedawishtotransmittheirlineaments

toposteritybymeansofhisskill。Wheneversuchproposalsweremade，

hefixedhispiercingeyesontheapplicant，andseemedtolookhim

throughandthrough。Ifhebeheldonlyasleekandcomfortablevisage，

thoughtherewereagold-lacedcoattoadornthepictureandgolden

guineastopayforit，hecivillyrejectedthetaskandthereward。

Butifthefaceweretheindexofanythinguncommon，inthought，

sentiment，orexperience；orifhemetabeggarinthestreet，with

awhitebeardandafurrowedbrow；orifsometimesachildhappenedto

lookupandsmile，hewouldexhaustalltheartonthemthathedenied

towealth。

Pictorialskillbeingsorareinthecolonies，thepainterbecame

anobjectofgeneralcuriosity。Iffewornonecouldappreciatethe

technicalmeritofhisproductions，yettherewerepoints，inregard

towhichtheopinionofthecrowdwasasvaluableastherefined

judgmentoftheamateur。Hewatchedtheeffectthateachpicture

producedonsuchuntutoredbeholders，andderivedprofitfromtheir

remarks，whiletheywouldassoonhavethoughtofinstructingNature

herselfashimwhoseemedtorivalher。Theiradmiration，itmustbe

owned，wastincturedwiththeprejudicesoftheageandcountry。

SomedeemeditanoffenceagainsttheMosaiclaw，andevena

presumptuousmockeryoftheCreator，tobringintoexistencesuch

livelyimagesofhiscreatures。Others，frightenedattheartwhich

couldraisephantoms，atwill，andkeeptheformofthedeadamongthe

living，wereinclinedtoconsiderthepainterasamagician，or

perhapsthefamousBlackMan，ofoldwitchtimes，plottingmischiefin

anewguise。Thesefoolishfanciesweremorethanhalfbelieved

amongthemob。Eveninsuperiorcircleshischaracterwasinvested

withavagueawe，partlyrisinglikesmokewreathsfromthepopular

superstitions，butchieflycausedbythevariedknowledgeand

talentswhichhemadesubservienttohisprofession。

Beingontheeveofmarriage，WalterLudlowandElinorwereeager

toobtaintheirportraits，asthefirstofwhat，theydoubtlesshoped，

wouldbealongseriesoffamilypictures。Thedayafterthe

conversationaboverecordedtheyvisitedthepainter’srooms。A

servantusheredthemintoanapartment，where，thoughtheartist

himselfwasnotvisible，therewerepersonageswhomtheycould

hardlyforbeargreetingwithreverence。Theyknew，i